Over the last several years, the growth of cell phones and messaging devices has increased the need for keypads that are small and tightly spaced. In particular, QWERTY keypads have become smaller with greater key switch density. With decreasing overall size, there has been greater focus on efforts to make individual keys more usable to a user. For example, keyboard design considers how readily the user can select or click (“clickability”) individual key structures of keyboard. The clickability may be affected by various factors, such as the individual key structure size and shape, as well as the spacing between key structures and the tactile response of individual key structures.
Other features that may affect usability include illumination of the keypad. Smaller keyboards tend to have smaller print patterns, and thus are more difficult to see. Some of the solutions provided for illuminating key pads includes using incandescent light sources and lighting areas surrounding individual key structures. The need for illumination becomes more important with small and/or tightly spaced key structures, because the smaller keys are more difficult to see. Furthermore, the smaller keyboards tend to be more unfamiliar to users who may be use to full-size keyboards, and many users have difficulty typing without seeing the individual key structures.